Knight to Remember
by RevSue
Summary: A celebration of Genovia’s Independence Day, the first one immediately following PD 1: mainly Joseph and Clarisse.


_Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine, but belong to Disney, very loosely taken from Meg Cabot's books The Princess Diaries. Disney and Ms Cabot get the money and glory, but I get the fun of playing with Joseph and Clarisse as they SHOULD have been played with! (I wish!) And this idea actually belongs to Sue which SHE got from reading about Wynonna Judd ..._

The invitations which went out to the Members of Parliament and many other important people in the Genovian capital city of Pyrus were very unique, all agreed. Encased in a sparkling gold cardboard tube, each invitation was in the form of an old scroll rolled on two golden dowels and tied with a purple satin ribbon. The scroll stated, "Hear ye! Hear ye! Your presence is desired at the Royal Palace for a "A Knight To Remember" on Thursday, May 8, at 6 p.m for spirits with a royal feast and musical entertainment for your dancing pleasure offered at half after seven. Come help us celebrate the Independence of Genovia and the achievements of King Chevalier on this Knight to Remember!" The elegant scroll ended with the words: "Regal attire, black tie optional."

This was the first Independence Day celebrated in Genovia since the young Princess Amelia had agreed to be known as the Crown Princess. Just one short month ago, the Genovian Embassy in San Francisco had hosted an early celebration for the Independence Day while the Queen was in residence, and it had been then that the Princess had announced her decision. Princess Amelia and the Genovian Head of Security, Joseph, had flown over from America just the day before, and Charlotte was busy helping the teenager settle into her new life in the palace. Prince Pierre was flying home to meet his niece and attend the ball. Queen Clarisse was meeting with diplomats from Portugal, France and Spain who had been invited for this auspicious occasion when the young Princess would be introduced to the people of Genovia. Amelia had already slipped while making her way down the stairs as she was practicing her grand entrance at Charlotte's suggestion, and was nursing a bruised hip and severely deflated ego.

"If I could just wear jeans instead of these stupid full skirts!" Mia muttered petulantly, flouncing back into the rooms allocated to her.

"It was my fault, your Highness," Charlotte hurried after her, concern all over her face. "I should have told you that the stairs had been newly waxed and polished yesterday in preparation..."

"Whatever," was Mia's reply to that.

"If you would prefer to wear something else, I might try to find..." Charlotte began.

"If I have to have regal, medieval attire, I can't wear jeans. Even I know that!" Mia sighed. "And I'd be too embarrassed to wear the tights and short tunics of the Prince Charmings I've seen in movies..."

Charlotte perked up. "I think that would be WONDERFUL idea, your Highness!" she enthused. "The tunics don't have to be THAT short! You COULD go as Prince Charming! Why, I believe that your father wore something like that when he was a teenager... I remember seeing him when I was invited to the Children's Costume Ball on All Hallows Eve one year!"

In spite of herself, Mia looked interested. "You've been in the palace that long, Charlotte?"

Flushing, Charlotte murmured, "My father was the Prime Minister when I was born. I grew up with both the princes. They were both older than me, of course, but..."

"Cool! You never said that before! So, what stories can you tell me about my father ... and Uncle Pierre?" Then a sly look crossed Mia's face. "Were you in love with either of them? Or BOTH of them? Was one the Prince Charming YOU dreamed of?"

Charlotte's face was scarlet now. "Your HIGHNESS!" she protested. There was absolutely no way in the world that she was going to tell the fifteen-year-old princess that that long-ago night was when she had fallen in love with Prince Pierre with all the ardour possible in a sixteen-year-old heart... and when she had received her first kiss from him which still thrilled her as much today as it had back then. Why, if Queen Clarisse ever suspected the thriving romance between her son and her personal aide, she would be properly horrified!

"Mia? Charlotte?" Queen Clarisse's voice floated across the room, and the two turned, startled, as neither one had been aware of the queen's entrance.

"Hi, Grandma! I was just trying to get out of Charlotte whether she liked my father better or Uncle Pierre!" Mia said.

Gasping, a now white-faced Charlotte looked wide-eyed at the princess, then the queen. "Oh, no, NO, your Majesty, it wasn't anything like... I mean, I wasn't saying... we weren't discussing..."

Clarisse raised her eyebrows at the sight of her very competent, self-contained aide reduced to a babbling fool. How interesting! In all the years she had known Charlotte, which was ever since the younger woman had been born, she had never seen her quite like this! At last she broke into Charlotte's incoherent stammerings. "I came in while you were explaining that your father was the Prime Minister in Genovia some thirty years ago," she said mildly. "I did overhear the conversation, and indeed Mia WAS asking you which of my sons, if either, you preferred. However, that was a most impertinent question on Mia's part, and does not deserve an answer. And please remember, Charlotte, I can tell when you are lying..." Her soft smile at the younger woman offered forgiveness. Then Clarisse frowned as she looked at her grand-daughter. "I understand you had a mishap on the stairs just now?"

"Oh, Grandma, I can't MOVE in these skirts! I'm wearing about ten of them!!!"

"That's the way it was done back then," Clarisse informed her.

"But that was THEN ... this is NOW! And Charlotte had a cool idea. Can I wear Dad's Prince Charming costume if we can find it and it fits?"

Clarisse considered the idea while Mia bit her lip and twisted her hand behind her back to tug on the braid hanging down her back. Charlotte was trying to ease her way out of the room without being noticed, but she stopped moving the moment Clarisse's eyes narrowed slightly at her. Charlotte's face flushed again. Clarisse looked back at Mia. "Very well. You may try it on."

"Oh, THANK you, Grandma! You're a sweetheart!" Mia flew at Clarisse and hugged her tightly.

Rather awkwardly, Clarisse returned the embrace, then extricated herself. "Now then, I trust I will see you both half an hour before people are due, properly attired?"

"For SURE," crowed Mia.

"Charlotte, do you have any idea where Joseph is?" was Clarisse's next question.

"I believe he was going over the security plans with Shades, your Majesty," was Charlotte's murmured answer. "In the security office. Shall I have him sent for?"

"No, thank you. Olivia and Priscilla are waiting for me in my suite. I will no doubt see him later."

"Grandma, are you going to dance with him tonight?" Mia asked as Clarisse turned to go.

Clarisse froze, noting the startled expression on Charlotte's face briefly before swallowing hard and turning back to her grand-daughter. "I beg your pardon?" she asked in an icy voice which generally warned questioners off.

Mia, however, didn't notice the tone of her grandmother's voice. "I just wondered if you'll be dancing with Joe again. He told me I was to save him a dance, since he was the one to teach me how to dance. And you DID dance with him at the ball in San Francisco, didn't you? I could have SWORN I saw you dancing together... and leaving together..." A funny note entered her voice at this point.

Charlotte's eyes widened, and again she made the effort to sneak out of the room unnoticed. What was the princess THINKING, to talk to her grandmother in such a fashion? Had she no sense whatsoever?

Drawing herself up, assuming her most regal posture, Clarisse merely cast her grand-daughter a scathing look, and swept out of the room without deigning to reply. Had either Charlotte or Mia realized just what was surging through Clarisse's mind at that moment, they would have been startled. Mia's somewhat innocent question about dancing with Joseph had cracked open the secret, delightful memories that Clarisse had locked away in her heart... memories of the weeks in San Francisco when Clarisse had come to a new understanding of her relationship with Joseph... memories she could not abolish no matter how hard she tried... memories that were threatening to overwhelm her with the desire to relive them...

After Mia's first dance lesson, Joseph had made the first move towards Clarisse and had drawn her onto the dance floor with him. His firm touch burning into her hand and waist, his heated gaze fixed on her constantly, the subtle but definite indications of his strong attraction to her had all conspired to have Clarisse realize, for the first time in her life, that she was a desirable woman who wanted to experience the lust and passion denied her by her arranged marriage... and she had known right then that she wanted to experience them with this man and none other. Neither had said a word aloud beyond Joseph's husky, "You've been wearing black too long", but their bodies had spoken for them in the age-old dance of romance. Clarisse truly COULD have danced all night that night, with Joseph.

Although Rupert had rewarded Joseph's heroism on one occasion by knighting him, a fact which most Genovians overlooked, Clarisse was the queen and Joseph was still her Head of Security. There could be no romance at all between them, without causing a scandal that would rock the country and Clarisse's world. Both intuitively knew that, so when the music died away and they had gradually stopped swaying together, they had remained in each other's arms, eyes glued to the other, for a long time before silently withdrawing into themselves once more, thankful that no one had witnessed their indiscretion.

Fists clenched, lips tight, Clarisse now had to stop for a moment in the corridor on her way from Mia's rooms to her own suite as the memories continued to flood over her... this time, memories of the night of the ball when she had been so certain that Mia was not going to appear. It had been the hardest thing she had ever had to do in her life... to stand at the podium and consider how best to say that her granddaughter had no interest in the throne of Genovia. The relief that had followed when a very, very wet Mia had appeared, with the ever-faithful Joseph behind her, had almost overwhelmed her... and when Mia had announced that she WOULD be the princess, Clarisse's joy had known no bounds. When they had escaped to have Mia dried off and change into a ball gown, Clarisse had allowed herself the unaccustomed luxury of slipping into a private room in the upper hall. Joseph had been, as usual, two steps behind them as they had ascended the stairs, and when Clarisse had seen that they were quite alone, she had quickly pulled him into the room with her and closed the door for privacy. Before he had been able to say a word, she had put her hands on his shoulders and had leaned in and kissed him.

Joseph had remained immobile in surprise, but finally he had swallowed noisily and had said with a crooked but devilish smile, "That was nice. Do it again."

Surprising them both, Clarisse had obliged. This time Joseph had been ready for her, however, and the soul-shaking kiss that followed had overturned Clarisse's world totally. The erotic feel of his mouth had grown until she had been responding in kind, kissing him over and over again. Her hands had locked around the back of his neck, keeping his head close to hers, encouraging the embrace to continue.

Now Clarisse found herself pressing her hand to her lips, and she looked around to make sure no one could see her. Her body was once more reeling from unfulfilled sexual need, as it had that night in the Genovia Embassy in San Francisco. She closed her eyes and struggled to gain control of her emotions once more.

"Your Majesty? You were asking for me? You wanted me?"

Joseph's voice, right on the heels of her wanton memories, caused Clarisse to break through the restraints of a lifetime. "Oh, GOD, Joseph!" she exclaimed, and reached for him longingly.

Joseph's eyes widened, and in a moment he had steered her into the room near at hand, closing the door. "Clarisse?"

"I've wanted this since that last night in San Francisco!" she gasped, and almost threw herself at him, her lips meeting his. She had only seen him a handful of times since his return from the United States.

She increased the intensity of the kiss, and after a slight hesitation, Joseph followed her lead, his hands slowly easing down her back and around to rest under her breasts. He deepened the kiss and pressed her between his body and the wall so that she was in no doubt as to his aching arousal. He saw that her passion-filled eyes were an intense blue, and knew he had never seen anything more lovely... nor had he ever had the desire to make love with a woman more than he did right then.

As his hands moved caressingly over her, Clarisse gasped into his mouth. Never in her life had she experienced or even dreamed of anything that felt so wonderful as this! The world disappeared around her and all she was aware of or cared about was Joseph and what he was doing to her. She wanted more... NEEDED more... she had so many questions for herself as well as for Joseph... but a cold shower of realization slowed her passion when it occurred to her that neither of them had any answers.

"Joseph ... I'm sorry!" she said breathlessly, trying to push him away. "Joseph, no... stop it... please, my darling... we mustn't..." She did not quite know how to stop this mad tumble of her heart, but she knew that they could not continue loving each other. Not now. Perhaps not ever.

He covered her mouth with his once more, and she moaned as he ravished her with an intimate aggression that seared her senses. Then he released her abruptly. They gazed at each other, filled with secret wants that neither would voice aloud. Clarisse brought her fingers to her slightly swollen lips, and knew she could not continue to do this. She was in love with Joseph, but it was a love with no future.

"We cannot continue this way, Joseph," she said, trying unsuccessfully to steady her voice. "While I don't deny my attraction to you, I need to fight it."

Understanding filled his intense gaze. "You can fight it, love, but you won't win, trust me. I have tried to fight my desire for you from the first moment we met."

"No! Oh, Joseph ..." She took a deep breath for strength. "Well, I must fight it and I will. For Genovia. It is my duty. But Joseph, you must stay away from me. I cannot resist you and me both."

"I am your Head of Security. I cannot stay away from you," was his harsh reply.

Clarisse bent her head, unable to look at the pain in his eyes. "We must not do this again. If I kissed you again, I fear I would..."

"Yes, you would," Joseph agreed, "for I would be lost as well." For a long moment he was silent, then heavily he said, "Very well, your Majesty. I will endeavour to cease from offering you my love in such manner. But might I remind you that YOU started it?"

Clarisse's head came up swiftly, denial on her lips, but seeing the faint smile on his face that was drawn with the agony of his recent promise, she smiled sadly back. "Oh, Joseph..." she murmured, and her hand touched his cheek lightly. She found herself wondering if she had just vanquished any hope she might have had with the only man she would ever truly love. Pain filled her heart, but she had to believe that she was right.

O o O o O o

The ball that evening was a splendid success. Everyone was arrayed in the garb of medieval knights and ladies and Clarisse admitted to herself that Rupert would have been pleased at the homage given to his revered ancestor, King Chevalier, for skill and diplomacy in wrenching the power from the von Troken family who had been attempting to have Genovia absorbed into its larger, more prosperous neighbour. Hence the celebration of Genovia's Independence! Unfortunately, that triumph also carried with it the five-hundred-year-old enmity of the von Troken family currently represented by Baron Siegfried von Troken. Clarisse pushed that unpleasant thought aside, and determinedly thought about how very proud of her grand-daughter she had been that night. Of course, it had helped that the meal was MEANT to be eaten with the fingers, so there had been no repetition of the grape disaster at the State Dinner in San Francisco.

After Mia had gone happily to bed, Clarisse stood by the window in her suite looking out at the workers still tidying up the garden. She was ready for bed, and was just sipping her nightly cup of tea. Seeing a movement on one side of the garden, she realized that a couple was kissing passionately in the shadows. Idly wondering who could be hiding there, she suddenly remembered that both Pierre and Charlotte had vanished midway through the evening. It was most unusual for Charlotte not to be on hand to assist Clarisse through an affair like tonight's. On the other hand, Pierre rarely stayed until the end of such evenings, usually declaring he was bored to tears.

Her eyes sharpened. Could there possibly be something in what Mia had been saying that very afternoon? Unfortunately, it was too dark to see anything clearly. Clarisse sighed, exasperated. What had gotten in to her? She didn't approve of spying! And she most certainly doubted that Charlotte and Pierre would be... making out... in the palace grounds! Or... would they? What did she really know about either of them since they had grown up? Both of her sons had been excellent friends with Charlotte while they were children...

Then she leaned her head on the glass and closed her eyes, remembering how incredibly handsome Joseph had looked this evening ... every inch the knight that he was. She had heard the whispers of many besotted female guests about the knight all in black, and had had to endure watching him dance with most of them while she fulfilled her own duty dances with the Members of Parliament. Finally she allowed herself to again relive her stolen moments this afternoon spent in Joseph's arms; his kisses, his loving touches... How foolish she had been to think that she would be able to endure years without being with him! Already her body was aching with suppressed longing for him, and she had only kissed him for the first time a month ago! Would it be at all possible for her to carry on a clandestine affair with her Head of Security and not have anyone in Genovia suspect? The possibilities of such an affair swept over her, and she trembled visibly. If they were to keep to the shadows, figuratively speaking, that is, could they ...?

"Clarisse?"

With a gasp, Clarisse whirled around to see Joseph standing there, wearing only his robe. "Joseph!"

"I was hoping you might re-consider your ultimatum this afternoon..." he said huskily, drawing closer.

"I...I..."

Then he was beside her, holding her in his arms, kissing her slowly. He took his time about it, letting her feel the endless need and love inside him. With that kiss, he made her his forever. Clarisse shivered with unfamiliar need. Sensing her reaction, Joseph was suddenly swamped with desire, deepening his kiss and silently urging her to respond.

Clarisse's hands slid beneath his robe so that she could feel the warm skin underneath. She loved the feel of him, and he was driving her wild with his kisses. A deep craving was growing inside her, and she was afraid to fulfill it. "Joseph..." His name was a soft moan as her nails grazed his back.

"Shhh, love." He slowly moved his hands over her eager body. "Trust me..."

"I DO trust you, Joseph, more than I have trusted anyone, but... oh... Lord..." The rest was lost as he carried her to the bed and came down on top of her, continuing to kiss and caress her. He was teasing her, and she was going mad, but still pleading for more. "Please, please don't stop, Joseph! Please..."

"I won't. I promise I won't stop until you have let go... Just let it take you over..."

Clarisse felt the world beginning to spin. His touch, his mouth, were all building to an uncontrollable release. She was spinning faster and faster, going deeper into something she couldn't name, on the brink of igniting into flames. He lifted her higher and tighter despite her cries and frantic movements. "Oh... Joseph, I don't... I can't... oh... JOSEPH!" Her eyes opened wide, and they were the most intense blue he had ever seen. She felt the delicious twisting sensations building swiftly and strongly inside her. Then suddenly the heavens opened and spilled over her body, the fiery sensations rippling through her unendingly. She cried out again and again, soft cries of sensual fulfilment which were the most incredibly stirring sounds Joseph had ever heard.

Joseph shuddered and surged forward into her one last time. She was finally his, he thought possessively. Now and forever, she belonged to him, just as he belonged to her. As they slowly returned to earth, savouring what they had just shared, Clarisse's hands roamed aimlessly over Joseph's chest, and she sighed in wonder. Never in her life had she felt so alive, so protected, or so loved.

"I know you can do nothing for now, but promise me that one day you will..." he began.

Clarisse's fingers covered his lips, and she shook her head. "I really cannot promise anything, Joseph," she said sorrowfully. "You know I can't. But know that this night will ALWAYS be one to remember for me... the first night I ever truly loved and was loved. By you, Sir Joseph ... MY knight to remember!."

With a low groan, he rested his forehead against her hair. "Our relationship will have to remain in the shadows?"

Recalling the couple she had seen in the shadows earlier, Clarisse smiled then sighed. "At least until Mia is queen and I am free of my duties and responsibilities towards Genovia..."

"And then?" he prompted huskily.

"And then we will talk, Joseph. THAT I can promise." And Clarisse sealed her promise with a passionate kiss.

The end.


End file.
